拈花惹草
niān huā rě cǎo
Pinyin

Definition

拈花惹草
 - 
niān huā rě cǎo
  1. lit. to pick the flowers and trample the grass (idiom)
  2. fig. to womanize
  3. to frequent brothels
  4. to sow one's wild oats

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

惹
rě
  1. 1 to provoke
  2. 2 to irritate
  3. 3 to vex
  4. 4 to stir up
  5. 5 to anger
  6. 6 to attract (troubles)
  7. 7 to cause (problems)
桃花
táo huā
  1. 1 peach blossom
  2. 2 (fig.) love affair
桃花运
táo huā yùn
  1. 1 luck with the ladies
  2. 2 a romance
  3. 3 good luck
烟花
yān huā
  1. 1 fireworks
  2. 2 prostitute (esp. in Yuan theater)
草
cǎo
  1. 1 variant: 草 cǎo

Idioms (20)

人生一世，草木一春
rén shēng yī shì , cǎo mù yī chūn
  1. 1 Man has but one life, grass but one spring (idiom). fig. the brevity of human existence
借花献佛
jiè huā xiàn Fó
  1. 1 lit. presenting the Buddha with borrowed flowers (idiom); fig. to win favor or influence using sb else's property
  2. 2 plagiarism
兔子不吃窝边草
tù zi bù chī wō biān cǎo
  1. 1 A rabbit doesn't eat the grass by its own burrow (idiom); One shouldn't do anything to harm one's neighbors.
兵马未动，粮草先行
bīng mǎ wèi dòng , liáng cǎo xiān xíng
  1. 1 before the troops move, fodder and provisions go first (idiom); logistics comes before military maneuvers
  2. 2 an army marches on its stomach
剪草除根
jiǎn cǎo chú gēn
  1. 1 lit. cut grass and pull out roots (idiom); fig. to destroy root and branch
  2. 2 to eradicate

Sample Sentences

别气急败坏亲爱的，我当然也不希望我们家老王在外面拈花惹草的，可歇斯底里解决不了问题，得冷静分析，所谓，知己知彼、百战不殆嘛。
bié qìjíbàihuài qīn ài de ，wǒ dāngrán yě bù xīwàng wǒmen jiā Lǎo Wáng zài wàimian niǎnhuārěcǎo de ，kě xiēsīdǐlǐ jiějuébùliǎo wèntí ，děi lěngjìng fēnxī ，suǒwèi ，zhījǐzhībǐ 、bǎizhànbùdài ma 。
Don't get yourself into such a state, dear. Of course I don't want my hubby to sow wild oats, but getting hysterical about things isn't going to resolve the issue. You have to do a cool analysis, like that quote from the Art of War: "If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles."
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